Syd Taylor reviews the Honda Jazz, possibly the ‘best’ small car in the world:

When you put one of the most refined little engines into a clean and attractive body – though not a particularly memorable one; and when you ensure that all subservient systems from the ‘snickety snick’ gearbox to the precise steering and compliant suspension have been designed to perfectly complement each other; and when you make absolute provision for the driver to be in total control, yet totally at ease along with fellow passengers, you have produced an excellent small car.

That is what the Honda Jazz is, and that is how it was created.

The essential character and quality of any complex piece of machinery is, of course, frequently mislaid by ‘improvement’ or ‘refinement’ – especially when the economic pressure of the marketplace demands cost-cutting at every turn – but I’m pleased to report that the new Jazz meets, as ever, those self-imposed stringent standards of detail design, construction quality and integrity to make it one of the best small cars.

And an outstandingly useful feature which reflects the ingenuity of Honda’s designers is the way that the rear seats fold flat in an instant to give a van-like facility. There’s none of the nonsense of tugging and pulling or shuffling seats. You just release two catches and . . . hey presto! You can load it up as if you are ‘white van man’.

Honda engineering standards are well known for being top notch – and, for example, as one who has worked on many a Honda motorcycle engine – I can tell you that quality and precision are the marks of the marque.

The latest version is now better looking but still retains all the qualities of the previous model.

The Jazz range starts at £10,990 and rises to £16,620. There is a choice from two petrol VTEC engines in either a 89bhp 1.2 or 99bhp 1.4 capacity, and specification variants range from the fairly basic S to the sooper dooper luxury EX (Tested here with the 1.4 engine and manual transmission) – not forgetting, of course, the Si which purports to be a ‘sporty’ Jazz: completely at odds, I suggest, with the very concept of this Honda which is well established as a car for the genteel and definitely not for members of the deranged ‘Go Faster Battalion’ who used to drive flashed-up Vauxhall Novas in their yoof.

And so, as I threaded the Jazz through the congested network of streets of Gotham City with consummate ease, I delighted in the comfortably light steering and generous field of vision.

Where the Jazz excels is the smoothness and easy feel of the controls: gears are creamy, pedal pressures are light and brakes are progressive and strong. These attributes make it a lovely car to drive.

Away from the strictures of city life, a brisk dash along more demanding twisty roads revealed a crisply competent car with fluid and elegant handling, but a slightly jiggly ride (curiously, despite the compliant suspension over rough roads).

Throughout the range, performance is measured and mannerly rather than inspiring and on motorways speed can drop considerably on long inclines – and at high speed it is not a particularly quiet car when compared to some rivals.

Nevertheless, this little Honda is the epitome of creamy smoothness and sophisticated ‘delightfulness’ for those who just want a magic hassle-free ‘do everything we want with minimum fuss’ transportation podule to match their quiet and respectable lifestyle in Acacia Avenue.

Of course, being a wicked motoring journalist it was my bounden duty to explore the extremes of the envelope.

And so, in the interests of truth, justice and etc, etc, I found that top speed was about 113mph. (Readers will surely rest easy knowing that this was achieved while driving over a cliff and well away from public car parks).

And for cost-conscious readers, I’m pleased to report that no matter how much your correspondent used his spurs, fuel consumption never dipped below 40 mpg.

Overall, throughout the test, 52 mpg was achieved. I can tell you now that had Aunt Maud been driving, 60 mpg would not have been out of reach.

So there we have it. Dare I say that maybe – just maybe – the Honda Jazz is the ‘best’ small car in the world.